To The Moon And Back
by Saturnian Sorceress
Summary: Glimpses into the lives of the crew of the Starship Enterprise.
1. Disease, McCoy

**Hi all! Just a few things: I'm new to the Star Trek world (a convert thanks to the new movie), but I'll do my best to fix any inaccuarcies. I found 95 prompts in a Google search, but I don't know how many I'll do...we'll see how it goes, although I'm totally up for any suggestions! And all of the prompts will be of different lengths, characters, tones, etc.**

**If you read please review!  
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"You place a hypospray on what part of a patient, Mr. McCoy?"

Leonard McCoy lifted his head wearily from his crossed arms, trying to ignore the pounding headache courtesy of his hangover, and stared openly at his professor. This guy had to be kidding.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes McCoy responded with a deadpanned, "The neck. But that's just an educated guess."

"Very good. At least someone is doing the reading."

McCoy fought the urge to roll his eyes. He was a doctor, not a child and he shouldn't have to sit in these basic medical courses. Damn Starfleet and their requirements.

"Because many of you got this wrong on the last exam, can anyone tell me the definition of the word disease?"

A petite blonde girl sitting in the front of the class timidly raised her hand.

"A disease is like a sickness of some kind, right?"

McCoy could feel his IQ drop. Letting out a huff, he grabbed his belongings and purposefully walked out of class. The last thing he wanted to hear was his idiot professor talk about what constituted a disease.

He had seen all kinds of diseases and the terrible ways they destroyed all types of bodies and species. The hypochondriac in him had decided a longtime ago that if a disease was going to take him out he was going to choose which one it was.

He had a seat waiting for him with his name on it at the local bar.


	2. Bathroom, Uhura & Gaila

This was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.

"Gaila! I have to get in there!"

"Keep your perfectly pressed panties on! I'll be out in a minute Nyota."

Uhura leaned heavily on the wall next to the bathroom she shared with her inconsiderate roommate. Gaila had been getting on her last nerve recently by breaking all of the rules she had setup upon moving in together. No bringing back men to the room without the other roommates consent had been the first rule to go and it had gone downhill from there.

If Gaila had bothered to study the morning bathroom schedule Uhura had labored over she would realize that she was 8.3 minutes over her allotted time.

Uhura had a very important meeting with Commander Spock in ten minutes (not taking into account the time it would take her to get all the way across campus) and, although he would never be mad at her for something as trivial as being late, she refused to let her roommate make her tardy.

"Gaila!"

The bathroom door opened and the Orion walked out as if the woman that would greet her wasn't going to be furious.

"The bathroom is all yours. Go crazy!"

Deciding not to respond to Gaila's sarcasm, Uhura strode into the bathroom mindful of not inhaling too deeply for fear of overdosing on the cloud of hairspray Galia left behind.

"Better hurry up Nyota! Wouldn't want to keep Commander Spock waiting, now would we?"

Gaila barely dodged the hairbrush.


	3. Delirious, Kirk

"How're doin' good lookin'?"

"I'm great! Did you know you're the prettiest bartender in Iowa? 'Cause you are."

"Well that's real sweet blue eyes, but you can't have another."

"C'mon, just one more."

"Sweetheart-"

"Jim. Jim Kirk."

"Well _Jim_ as we discussed several hours ago, no more money equals no more drinks."

"I'm not planning on paying the rest of my tab in cash."

"Credit then?"

"I'm better than monetary gains, I promise you that."

"I wouldn't doubt it. What're you staring at?"

"The lights. I didn't know they made lights that swirl."

"They don't. The lights aren't swirling, on the contrary they're quite stationary."

"Oh man, maybe I'm going crazy then."

"You're not crazy."

"Then I'm sick. Delirium must be a symptom of whatever I'm coming down with. Quick, what diseases include being delirious?"

"You need to stop screaming or I'm going to have to throw you out and you're not delirious."

"Oh yeah Ms. Smarty-pants bartender, if I'm not delirious then what am I?"

"Drunk."

"Another round then!"


	4. Autumn, Spock & Uhura

"It's always been my favorite season, ever since I was a child."

"May I inquire as to why?"

Uhura glanced over at Spock, no Commander Spock as long as they were at the Academy in the view of others, and smiled. He was walking her back to her dorm after a working dinner, and an intense discussion of the origins of Xenolinguistics, and both were enjoying the cool autumn night.

"Of course. Autumn just brings back good memories. Happy memories. In school we used to build these huge piles of leaves and we'd have these jumping contests. The person whose leaves went the highest would win."

"What would the winner receive?"

"Oh, just stupid things, some cookies or a piece of candy, whatever we had at our disposal."

"Was this form of sport sanctioned by your academy?"

Uhura giggled (she only giggled around him) and the corner of Spock's lips twitched. Almost imperceptible to the naked eye, but it was still a twitch and for that Uhura was proud.

"Well, it's not a real sport Spo- Commander," Uhura replied, kicking up a few stray leaves. "Just a fun pastime for children, nothing more, nothing less."

"Fascinating."

Although Uhura wasn't looking at him she knew his eyebrow had risen.

"I do not entirely understand your affection towards this season. I often hear students complain about the sudden cold weather and the male students seem to anger at the addition of pants to the women's uniforms. Living flora die and fauna go into hibernation, it is not supposed to be a pleasurable experience."

By now the pair was in front of Uhura's door and she was punching in her entrance code.

"That's the negative way to look at it," she whispered. "Tomorrow morning just look outside and take in the beauty of the season. I can't explain it better than that, but you're a smart man, I'm sure you'll figure it out. Good-night Commander, thank you for walking me home."

"You are welcome. Good-night, Nyota."

And the next morning when Spock looked out his window, he tried to see the season the way he believed Nyota looked at it. As the sun caught the hues of the leaves, transforming them into more than just basic reds, yellows, and oranges, practically giving them a life of their own, Spock thought he might have begun to realize just why Nyota loved autumn.


	5. River, Scotty

**Special thanks to EvilMuffinsOfDeath and Adoete for their kind reviews, and thanks to all the people story alerting and favoriting... I'd love to hear from you! :D**

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It was one of the many things he hated about being trapped in this hellhole known as Delta Vega.

Constant below freezing weather meant no nice weather which meant no chance at fun for him. Ever.

Scotty had hoped, obviously in vain, that there might be some crazy hot spring lurking on the planet. Somewhere he could relax and unwind. He had been praying for just a small section of the planet to be above freezing, maybe even warm enough for a river with some nice fish, not the crazy monsters that lived under the ice, where he could work on his cast.

But no, that would be too easy and would make him too happy. He knew it had always been Starfleet's mission to make him miserable and damn if they hadn't succeeded! But he wasn't going to let them win, oh no, he wasn't.

Scotty was a smart man, a genius if you asked him (though nobody did) and if he wanted a river to fish in he was going to have one.

His project lasted for weeks, and honestly it's not like he didn't have the free time to conceive and build his latest endeavor. His lab was littered with blueprint sketches, mathematical equations were scribbled on his table, tools and several improved upon prototypes were scattered haphazardly throughout several rooms. The final outcome was worth the sleepless nights.

The long trench he had built, dug really though no one needed to know that, in one of the outposts hallways had been lined with tubing that had been cut in half and stretched throughout, fitting snuggly and securely. It was filled with ice which he had melted down to simply extremely cold water.

It wasn't a real river, but it would do.

As he cast his makeshift fishing pole, he grinned and shouted into the emptiness of the outpost, "Ha ha, your move Starfleet!"


	6. Sunset, Sulu

"Ugh, it's so dark."

Hikaru Sulu spun around in his chair, vision blurring momentarily. The bridge was boring with no one else on duty. Technically Chekov was supposed to be watching the vastness of space pass by too, but after an impromptu party the night before ("Celebrating the 1,025 hour on my ship!" Kirk had announced) he was in no condition to do much of anything.

So Sulu sat, alone, talking to himself.

"I just want to turn the sun on. The darkness is depressing me."

He sighed and started counting all of the stars he could see on the screen.

"It wouldn't be so bad if there was some light variation every once in awhile, but everyday it's the same thing. Man, there are times I can't even figure out if it's supposed to be the daytime."

Rising from his seat Sulu began to pace around the room, circling the Captain's chair, weaving in and out of the consoles and repeating the movements. He had to do something or he was going to fall asleep.

Stopping briefly to once again examine the stars he sighed.

"I miss the sun. Its warmth, its color, the fact that its frickin' bright. I want to see the sunset, watch it disappear behind the trees at the academy."

Returning to his station Sulu rubbed his eyes wearily, realization dawning on him.

"Oh my God, I think I'm homesick."

"Who are you talking to?"

Sulu's head spun around so quickly he could've sworn he heard it crack.

"Um, no one Captain. Just trying to pass the time."

Kirk's mouth formed a silent 'O' as he strode purposefully towards the embarrassed helmsman.

"I just thought I'd bring you little late-night pick-me up because I'm just that awesome of a Captain," Kirk grinned mischievously, pulled out a bottle of Andorian Ale and handed it to the stunned helmsman.

"Sir, I probably shouldn't be drinking on the job…"

"Sulu, you need to relax. You're not gonna get in trouble when it was the Captain's idea. Now start drinking. That's an order."

"Thank you, sir. Good-night."

"Don't mention it."

Kirk hesitated at the door.

"Look, if you ever need to— "

"I'm fine, sir."

Kirk nodded.

As he left Sulu just barely heard him mutter, "You're not the only one who misses home."


	7. Call, Chekov

"I can do zis, I can do zis, I can do zis."

Ensign Pavel Chekov paced his room like a caged animal, his mantra for the past half an hour beginning to grate on his nerves. He clutched the napkin with _her_ number on it in his left hand, like a lifeline, and the phone in his right.

"I can do zis, I can do zis."

He still couldn't believe his luck; things like this happened to him….well, never. He hadn't known girls, women really, that beautiful existed. Who knew he'd meet his match in Iowa?

A visit back to the state so that the Captain could visit his Mother had prompted many of the crew members of the Enterprise to go to a local bar that some had been to before coming to the academy. Local, Chekov had learned, didn't mean in town or around the corner, but in the middle of a corn field.

He wasn't as naïve as his fellow crew members thought he was. He had snuck into plenty of bars and clubs, both back home in Russia and outside of the academy, but regardless of his experience he was instructed by Commander Spock to "not move from the bar area" so that someone would always "be able to locate you should an emergency arise."

And so Chekov had sat at the bar nursing his Russian vodka (he was able to convince the bartender he was legal by reciting his knowledge of the origins of his drink of choice and changing the subject every time ID was brought up), feeling bitter and sorry for himself.

Until she sat down next to him.

She was beautiful, more beautiful than any of the girls back at the academy, in Russia, or any of the females he met on the multitude of planets he had explored. Her ebony hair cascaded down her back and her skin was so pale that it reminded him of the porcelain dolls his Mother collected. For a minute he thought he was dreaming and from there he thought that maybe he should cut himself off, that the vodka was messing with him.

Then she talked to him.

They had little in common, but he didn't care. The way she leaned into him so she could hear him better or when she gently laid her hand on his arm, made him forget they were in a room full of people.

He bought her shots and she led him to the dance floor. Chekov briefly thought of what Commander Spock might say to him if he left the bar, but when his eyes landed on him and Lieutenant Uhura sharing a dessert, he assumed he had nothing to worry about.

He danced with his perfect woman to several songs, the fast ones made him feel awkward, but he taught her some traditional Russian dances to the slower songs, which made her smile and pull him closer.

"Forgive me for being so rude, I didn't even get your name," she had whispered, making him shiver at the contact of her lips brushing his ear.

"Pavel. Pavel Chekov. Vhat's yours?"

"Well, a girl has got to keep some air of mystery around her sugar."

When the couple, as Chekov had begun to see the two of them, had tired of dancing they returned to the bar. The night was winding down; there were only a few people hanging around that weren't members of the Enterprise.

Chekov had been so lost in his conversation with his mystery woman that he nearly spilled his drink when a hand came down on his shoulder. He turned around and was met with the slightly intoxicated smile, courtesy of his Captain, who must've snuck in to join the party hours ago without his knowledge.

He cringed. The last thing Chekov needed was competition from the handsome, charming Captain. He had seen with his own eyes the havoc Kirk's blue-eyes could unleash on women, turning them into putty in his very capable hands. He was doomed.

"Ensign Chekov, who's your beautiful new friend?"

"Um—"

"As seeing I pose no threat," the woman had answered, "I think that information is irrelevant to you."

"Oh feisty, I like that."

"Uh, Keptin did you vant something?"

Pulling his eyes away from Chekov's 'date' Kirk had cleared his throat.

"Yeah, actually it's time to end the love fest and call it a night, so says our favorite green-blooded hobgoblin. So, finish up here. We'll be waiting for you outside."

Chekov hadn't missed the wink his womanizing Captain tossed his woman as he left the bar.

He had turned back to his date and smiled sheepishly.

"I mustn't keep zem waiting. It vas a pleasure spending tonight vith you."

"Same here sugar," she had said, slipping a napkin into his hand. "Call me."

She brushed her lips over his, so quickly he wasn't sure it had actually happened, and left, leaving him staring with his mouth slightly open, in her wake.

And now here he was, alone in his quarters, afraid to call his lady love.

Chekov looked at the napkin and carefully studied the digits on it. It was now or never. He took a deep, calming breath, steeled his nerves and moved to dial the numbers.

"I can do zis."


	8. Smoke, Uhura

**Special thanks to my new reviewer Coz20 and thanks to all the people favoriting and story alerting! If you read, please review!**

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"Mmm, so good," Uhura murmured.

She closed her eyes and let the smoke fill her lungs before exhaling.

Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.

The repetition was calming. The utter control she had over the whole situation was something she secretly craved; something she needed to keep a semblance of sanity.

That's what she needed; to feel like she was in control.

She took a long drag of her cigarette and glanced outside the office window so she could see the engine room. She smiled to herself completely aware that the engine room was probably the worst place she could've picked to take her smoking breaks. She easily could've set off sparks and caught something on fire or worse blown up the ship…but she was safe about it. She needed this time to collect herself and think.

She had just needed a place where no one would bother to look for her. She hated to admit it, but she would be mortified if any other crew member found out about her vice. Her weakness.

Uhura was fortunate that Scotty had been the only one to discover her secret thus far. He was kind enough to let her hide in his office so she could indulge without the fear of being caught by another member of the crew or have the fear of blowing up the ship dwell on her conscience when she was trying to relax. He understood her need to have a smoke every once in a while; after all Scotty had his own vices.

So, three times a week Uhura snuck down to Scotty's office, telling anyone who asked she would be in her quarters trying to catch up on sleep, so please don't disturb.

Occasionally Scotty would keep her company while she smoked. He'd pour the two of them drinks and she'd share her cigarettes and they would talk. They often had silly conversations, but had had several intimate ones, Uhura sharing more than she ever would've thought on topics ranging from her upbringing to her relationship with Spock, and she was always surprised at Scotty's depth when he responded to her own queries.

Although she loved her bonding moments with Scotty, she cherished her alone time.

Uhura used the time to sort out whatever was bothering her. Whether it was Kirk's never-ending innuendo comments or the fact that she wished, even though she knew she shouldn't, that sometimes she could just hold Spock's hand as they walked down the hallway or kiss him even with the others in view without feeling uncomfortable; she came to terms with all of her worries and problems on her smoking break.

She let out a puff of smoke and watched as it swirled in front of her, catching on the lights in the office.

Uhura sighed realizing she had been gone longer than she had wanted to be; people would begin to wonder if she was seriously ill. The last thing she needed was to be poked and prodded by Dr. McCoy and hovered over by Kirk and Spock.

She stubbed out her cigarette and couldn't help but think that as each break went by they seemed to get shorter and shorter.

"Buck up Nyota. Time to go to work."

Before completely exiting the room, Uhura turned around to make sure the cigarette had been put out indefinitely.

The smoke had disappeared.

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	9. Cry, Spock

He had always hated seeing his Mother cry.

The Vulcan half of him understood that despising a natural, albeit useless, _human_ emotion was illogical. The Human half of him needled at his conscience to try it on occasion, for purely experimental reasons, of course.

Spock had never understood the many variations of crying. His Mother had told him that to understand them you had to know the situation from which it was derived from.

His Father had told him that his Mother had cried at his birth. If he concentrated he could just barely conjure a memory of his Mother wiping away tears as he went off on his first day of school.

She had cried the times when he came home with a bloody lip and when he had graduated. He also realized, with some sense of what he believed might be the human emotion of guilt, that she had cried when he decided to go to Starfleet.

She had wiped invisible lint of his clothing and smoothed down his hair. She did everything she could think of to avoid saying 'good-bye.'

"Oh my baby's all grown-up," she had mumbled.

"You have known this for sometime Mother. I have not been a baby for many years."

"Oh, I know that sweetie. It's just hard for a mother to let go."

Spock had nodded and allowed his Mother to fuss over him as it seemed to be keeping her together. He should've let it go, but he had needed to know.

"Mother, why are you crying? I understand that you," he had hesitated, "feel sad, but I assure you Starfleet is the proper decision and will aid me in reaching my fullest potential."

"Spock these aren't tears of sadness, but tears of joy," she had smiled, taking his hands in hers.

"So you are happy to see me leave?"

"Of course I am. It means I've succeeded in being a parent. I'm crying because I'm so proud of you. I'm so incredibly proud of who you are and what you've accomplished and what I know you'll continue to achieve at Starfleet."

"I thank you Mother."

She had smiled and wrapped her arms around him. He had not hesitated to return the embrace. He hadn't even noticed the tears that had clung to his shirt.

In the isolation off his quarters on the Enterprise, Spock sat on the edge of his bed as the memories of his Mother played out in front of his eyes. Her beautiful smile, her shining eyes, her laugh that had sounded like bells, the unconditional love that she had shown him. All there, all so real in his mind.

And now she was gone.

It was all his fault. If only he had been faster…

She was gone.

She was never coming back.

For the first time in his life, he understood what tears were meant for.

For the first time in his life, he allowed himself to cry.


	10. Family, Crew

"I can't believe it!"

"I don't believe it! There's no way a seventeen year old genius can drink a grown man, who drinks on an incredibly regular basis, under the table and not pay for it the next day."

"It's the truth," McCoy grinned, throwing his arm around a blushing Chekhov. "The kid's good."

"Zank you Doctor. I zink."

"Hey, hey, hey no need for 'doctor' kid, we're off the clock."

The end of the good doctor's statement was met with cheers and whistles, for the entire crew of the Enterprise was together in an impromptu celebration of Jim's promotion to Captain. Jim had invited them back to his dorm to get everyone, even Spock, away from the overwhelming congratulations and well-wishes.

The improvised party was just an added bonus.

"You shouldn't be encouraging underage drinking Doctor."

"Oh come on Uhura, like you never snuck one when your parents weren't looking."

"For your information _Captain_, no I didn't."

"Of course not. You probably couldn't have if you had wanted to."

"Please, I could've taken an Andorian ale from my Father with my eyes closed."

The room was silent for a moment.

"So, what was the problem then?" Sulu questioned. "Why didn't you?"

Uhura hesitated, unsure of how to respond without making herself look like a goodie-two-shoes.

"I am sure Lieutenant Uhura did not commit a petty crime because she is an upstanding, law abiding citizen."

"Damn, Spock I forgot you were even here," McCoy mumbled into his bourbon.

"I assure you I have been here the entire time."

"Of course ye have! An' you've 'ad nothin' to drink! That's criminal in itself."

"Mr. Scott I prefer not to have my body ravaged my impurities."

"Aw, you're no fun. Right Chekov? Tell the good 'ole Commander Spock to loosen up," Jim cajoled.

The room turned to look at the young Russian boy who had barely spoken two words since the 'party' began. He flushed under the sudden attention.

"Uh, ees true Commander. Et ess more fun vhen you are part of zhe group. Join us."

"Thank you Ensign Chekov, but I am perfectly content with my current position."

"You're not being a team player Spock."

Jim's comment was in effect teasing, but the underlining sarcasm put the room on edge. They all secretly hoped the half-Vulcan's grasp of human sarcasm, and its often hurtful usage, was limited and that he wouldn't understand it.

There was long pause.

"Doctor McCoy would you had me an Andorian ale?"

As he passed Spock his requested drink, McCoy noticed out of the corner of his eye Uhura's smug smirk and Jim's incredulous look. Sulu had reached over to physically close Chekov's dropped jaw and Scotty laughed heartily. Perhaps Spock wasn't that bad afterall....

Spock drank quickly and to save him from the stares, and to save everyone from the awkward silence that the room had been plunged into, McCoy cleared his throat and changed the subject.

"So Pavel, kid, when's our next drinking match. There's no way you'll be able to beat me again."

"Ve shall zee."

The party picked up without a problem.

Sulu monitored the drinking war between McCoy and Chekov, carefully gauging their separate intakes and laughing as the two argued, speech slurred and arms flailing (for the record Chekov won…again). Jim and Scotty animatedly talked about ways to enhance the Enterprise's speed through tampering with the engines; without anyone's knowledge, of course. Spock and Uhura were lost in their own deep conversation, heads bent close together, though not in an inappropriate manner so as to not draw any further attention to themselves.

As the night wore on the crew resorted to other modes of entertainment. Poker, truth or dare ("So _Nyota_, when Spock blushes does he turn green everywhere?" "I am not answering that _Jim_."), twenty questions, and various drinking games took up most of the time.

It was nights like these, and ultimately there became many of them, that the crew of the Enterprise came to cherish. Times when they could be themselves and be together. They were no longer simply schoolmates or teammates. They were much more then that.

They were family.

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**This is the last chapter, it just felt like the right place to end. Special thanks and shout-outs to all of my reviewers: EvilMuffinsOfDeath, Adoete, Coz20, little-pocketmouse, HoVis, and MagicalMary!! And thanks to all of those who favorited and story alerted the fic! Thanks so much! For one last hoorah I'd love to hear from you all one last time! :D **


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